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SPEE3D Introduces XSPEE3D: Fastest All-In-One Containerised Metal 3D Printer

Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

XSPEE3D is Highly Mobile, Easy to Use, and Prints Metal 3D Parts from Anywhere in Minutes

Land Forces, Brisbane, Australia – October 4, 2022 – SPEE3D, makers of the world’s fastest metal 3D printers, today unveiled its XSPEE3D printer – a containerised, ruggedized, and deployable cold-spray metal 3D printer that provides all of the necessary functions to print metal parts from anywhere in just minutes. XSPEE3D was designed based on extensive field work and collaboration with the Australian Army.

XSPEE3D is fully transportable as a standard shipping container with the printer and all auxiliary equipment in one box. The printer is easy to use and deploy, requiring only a connection to electrical power. Once the printer is live, anyone can begin fabricating parts immediately. XSPEE3D is 1,000 times faster than other additive manufacturing options and can print one or multiple parts simultaneously. The printer can be deployed to remote locations and helps maximise productivity, strengthen inventory, and bring rigour to the world’s weakening supply chain.

“One of the most significant issues the military faces today is the ability to resolve critical spare part requirements in the field, a challenge that worsens in the face of global supply chain issues,” said Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D. With the introduction of the XSPEE3D, we’re solving this issue with the ability to make reliable and affordable metal parts from anywhere, including in harsh, remote military field conditions. We understand the operational, economic, and supply chain issues Defence faces and look forward to continuing to work with them to help solve these challenges.“

The UK’s Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), an independent research and technology organisation that works with the military and the world’s top companies, is partnering with SPEE3D to be the first organisation to utilise the XSPEE3D printer.

“Our goal at the MTC is to bridge the gap between industry and academia to showcase the world’s foremost technologies to our wide-ranging clients, including those in Defence, and metal 3D printing is crucial for us to understand and teach them,” said Dr. Ken Young, Director of Technology at the MTC. “We chose the XSPEE3D for its unique capability to be deployed in harsh environments, which makes it ideal for military use or for creation of spare parts in remote locations. This opens up a new area of application for additive manufacturing that until now has been unachievable.”

Unlike other printers, XSPEE3D can print quality 3D metal parts from over 12 metal alloys, including copper, stainless steel, titanium, high-strength aluminium, and nickel-based carbides, and can withstand extreme heat and rough terrain in the field. Uniquely, SPEE3D harnesses the power of kinetic energy rather than relying on high-power lasers and expensive gasses, allowing printing at affordable production costs.

SPEE3D is no stranger to partnering with the military.The company recently announced that its WarpSPEE3D printer was the first in the world to successfully print parts from a naval ship as part of the NCMS (National Center for Manufacturing Sciences) REPTX exercise. SPEE3D has been involved in field testing of their deployable technology with the Australian Army and Australian Navy since 2019.

spee3d.com

Posted in Disruptive Tech, Tradeshow | Comments Off on SPEE3D Introduces XSPEE3D: Fastest All-In-One Containerised Metal 3D Printer

Low-Cost Tech Shaping Modern Battlefield, SOCOM Commander Says?

Thursday, July 28th, 2022

ASPEN, Colo. — In his 38 years as a soldier, across theaters ranging from the Middle East to Europe, the commander of Special Operations Command says he never had to look up. But those days are ending.

“I never had to look up because the U.S. always maintained air superiority,” Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke said during a discussion Friday at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado. “We won’t always have that luxury,” he added.

Low-cost quadcopters and larger unmanned aerial vehicles are disrupting the status quo as militaries and insurgents increasingly rely on them, the general said.

“When Russia is running out of them for Ukraine, and they’re going to Iran to go buy more, [that] should cause us all a bit of concern because you can see how valuable that they can be in the future fight,” he said.

U.S. and partner forces have largely focused on ways to defeat enemy drones after takeoff, but Clarke said there is also a need for interagency discussions on ways to disrupt supply chains to prevent them from taking off.

But first, there must be a discussion on norms and authorities for their use, he said. With a “very low” cost of entry for some of the small unmanned systems, the general said some countries may want to use drones to move patients or supplies. Medical transport vehicles are protected under the Geneva Conventions.

Chemical, Biological Weapons

Clarke said the Defense Department has charged Socom with looking at another threat that is inexpensive to produce and use — chemical and biological weapons.

ISIS used chlorine and mustard gases in Iraq and Syria, he said. Russia has used chemical weapons against its political allies — on its own soil and elsewhere, Clarke added.

“The fact that someone in the basement in Mosul [Iraq] with a few lab sets can do this,” proved that it’s a simple process to create these weapons, the general said. Chemical and biological weapons are a terrorist weapon system, he said, and ISIS and al-Qaida will continue to use them because they instill fear.

“As we go into the future, we have to be prepared for that eventuality … and look for methods to continue to combat it,” Clarke said.

Cyber Threats

Though U.S. officials have said government and other critical systems are receiving daily cyberattacks, the general said he’s equally concerned with the way adversaries are using cyber to exploit the information space.

Malign actors are spreading misinformation and disinformation online, and these have had an impact on elections, he said.

Misinformation is false or misleading information — a mistaken breaking news announcement, for example. Disinformation is meant to intentionally deceive the recipient.

Clarke said cyber gives adversaries a quick route to spread false information that can damage the U.S. cause.

“The message, if you look at the internet and what is happening from the African countries, its U.S. sanctions against Russia are causing food shortages in Africa,” the general said. “So we’re being blamed for people in Africa not getting to eat. … We have to look at what is on the internet and get the truth out about what is happening. And I think we have to be able to do that as a government a little bit faster than what we’re doing today.”

By Claudette Roulo, DOD News

Posted in Army, CBRNE, CEMA, Disruptive Tech, Guest Post, Information Warfare, SOF | Comments Off on Low-Cost Tech Shaping Modern Battlefield, SOCOM Commander Says?

North Shore Sports Club Coil Accelerator

Monday, July 11th, 2022

The future is here with the Coil Accelerator from North Shore Sports Club which like a rail gun uses an electrically produced magnetic charge to propel a metal disc toward the target rather than using traditional chemical propellants.

The disc is 275 grain and the magazine will hold 50. Projectile velocity is selectable at 80, 115, or 145 fps with an energy of between 3 and 16 joules. This gives you a maximum range of 40 feet but North Shore Sports Club says you’ll get between 20 and 30 feet of effective range. Since this is battery powered, you’ll get about 500 shots per charge and it takes about an hour to recharge the battery.

Interestingly, the coil accelerator offers semi-automatic fire as well as 5-disc burst and full-auto. Pretty impressive from something coming out of Illinois. Way to think outside the box. Plus, there’s no recoil or smoke or flash signature.

These have been around awhile but since there’s a big push to go electric, it’s worth a look if you’re interested in tinkering.

www.northshoresportsclub.com/coil-accelerator

Posted in Disruptive Tech | 9 Comments »

Air Force, Space Force Announce Next Hackathon at 3 Locations and Classifications, Enabling Government, Industry, Citizens to Build Emergent Weapons System Capabilities

Saturday, June 4th, 2022

WASHINGTON (AFNS) —

Applications are now open for the next BRAVO Hackathon, BRAVO 1 Canary Release, which will kick-off July 18-22 simultaneously at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Patrick Space Force Base, Florida; and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

A hackathon is an innovation and software development event commonly employed by technology companies in which teams self-form and urgently develop working prototypes that are later presented to senior leaders. Canary Release takes its name from a data-driven software release technique, leveraged frequently by technology companies where new software is introduced to a sample of users in production for telemetry collection and validation before distributing the software to the remaining population.

BRAVO hackathons gather engineers, data scientists, data visualization and user experience experts, and product and use case owners from industry, academia, government and citizenry to build operationally focused emergent capabilities with mentorship from senior Department of Defense leaders. At BRAVO 0, the first hackathon’s 11 teams focused on challenges such as: jet sensor visualization and playback, target planning and pairing, multi-jet sensor fusion analysis, artificial intelligence-assisted radar sensor failure mitigation, maintenance visualization and automation/artificial intelligence-assisted personnel recovery.

Four months after BRAVO 0, one project’s work has been operationalized to the European theatre, while half have been selected by Air Force organizations for additional development, testing and fielding. BRAVO 0 projects produced capabilities related to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s operational imperatives in areas such as Air Force Joint All-Domain Command and Control, next generation system of systems, post-flight data analysis and readiness.

“A senior DoD official recently referred to the capability to deploy updates to SpaceX Starlink in response to data indicating jamming as ‘eye-watering.’ This shouldn’t be the case. Every big tech company and some nation states have already built automated pipelines that collect, aggregate and fuse data to enable such capabilities,” said Stuart Wagner Department of the Air Force chief digital transformation officer.

“DoD talks a lot about connecting weapons systems but has been too slow to implement groundbreaking, data-driven capabilities. BRAVO hackathons leverage existing Department of Defense technologies to provide hackers the development environment and operational data to rapidly build data-driven kill chains and cognitive electronic warfare capabilities. If you are a cleared or uncleared American citizen with technology skills looking to build national security capabilities during a one-week event, this is your opportunity.”

Unlike other DoD technical environments, BRAVO hackathons allow hackers to bring open-source software and data into the development environment in minutes providing unprecedented software and data collaboration on operational data.

The goals for Canary Release are to: validate rapid development in a cloud-based environment across multiple bases, military departments and classifications on operational use cases; provide a new way for American companies, citizens and government employees to develop DoD capabilities; and generalize the BRAVO development model to enable future scaling to partner military departments, combatant commands, U.S. government agencies, and U.S. partners and allies.

“The first BRAVO hackathon set a record for maximum concurrent users on our AI development environment. We agree that we must increase our digital and AI investments to operational use cases, including those identified and built at BRAVO hackathons. We are evaluating opportunities to scale this innovation model to the DoD and federal government enterprise,” said Greg Little, deputy director of Enterprise Capability at the Chief Digital and AI Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense.

For Canary Release, use cases have been sourced from Air Combat Command, Space Launch Delta 45 and Space Force Chief Technology Information Office. All participants must be American citizens. Participation at the Patrick SFB does not require a security clearance while participation at the remaining bases requires a secret clearance. Companies with employees holding active Special Access Program read-ins are encouraged to apply.

BRAVO Hackathon intends for 60% of hackers to be government employees or DoD contractors with approval of their government contracting officer with the remainder coming from industry, academia and American citizenry.

Canary Release is hosted by various organizations within Air Combat Command, Space Launch Delta 45, Space Force Chief Technology and Innovation Office, DAF’s Chief Information Office, 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, CyberWorx, AFWERX, Congressional offices from the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Program Executive Office, Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer, BESPIN software factory and Morpheus among many others.

About BRAVO hackathon series

The BRAVO hackathon series is named from Project B, a 1921 series of joint Army-Navy target exercises conducted on surplus ships in response to Army Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell’s claim that bombers sink battleships. This claim undermined the then-current investments and strategy of the then Department of War. The Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy authorized Project B to disprove and disgrace Mitchell by demonstrating the insignificance of airpower. Mitchell instead directed his bombers to destroy all the test ships, changing military strategy, defense resourcing for aeronautics and aircraft carriers, and ultimately the Department of War by proving the need for a separate Air Force military department.

Styled off Project B, BRAVO hackathons are sponsored by senior DoD leaders to provide technical and cultural innovation environments that enable government, academia, industry and citizenry to test and validate bold ideas on real DoD data.

Application

Department of Defense employees and DoD contractors may apply as either support staff or hackers via Common Access Card login here.

Federal employees outside of the DoD or contractors without a Common Access Card may apply here.

Industry, academia and citizens interested in being considered to participate via Air Force CyberWorx’s Partnership Intermediary, CCTI, can apply here. Selected participants will receive additional details.

Project demonstrations are offered to DoD and federal employees through a science fair. Applications are available here.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Disruptive Tech, Guest Post | Comments Off on Air Force, Space Force Announce Next Hackathon at 3 Locations and Classifications, Enabling Government, Industry, Citizens to Build Emergent Weapons System Capabilities

DEVCOM, Army Special Forces Collaborate with International Partner to Test Additive Manufacturing Technology

Monday, May 30th, 2022

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — On a battlefield in the future, Soldiers deployed to remote areas around the world will use sophisticated additive manufacturing printers to ‘print’ virtually everything they need, from food to shelter to weapons. The Army has made additive manufacturing a priority and Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, is supporting the effort with Project Prime, a collaboration with U.S. Army Special Forces and an international industry partner.

The Project Prime team consists of the U.S. Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), or 7th SFG (A); DEVCOM’s International Technology Center — United Kingdom, or ITC-UK; DEVCOM’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Combat systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center, or C5ISR; and Defend3D, a company based in the United Kingdom that enables secure transmission of remote 3D printing.

Special Forces Soldiers tested the technology by repeatedly adding and printing additive manufacturing files using Defend3D’s Virtual Inventory Communication Interface, or VICI. VICI provides a server application that manages the virtual inventory, assigns rights to remote manufacturers and provides the product in a ‘one-click-print’ format with minimal training for the end-user to securely stream.

“Despite a network connection categorized commercially as having low to no connection, VICI facilitated speedy, secure and accurate printing. Based on expectations set at the beginning of the project, VICI did everything we needed it to do, and 7th SFG (A) was satisfied with the system performance and endorsed the capability for further development and implementation,” said Dr. Patrick Fowler, DEVCOM Global Technology advisor at ITC-UK.

Each DEVCOM ITC has a Global Technology advisor who scouts technology in their area of operation. Project Prime began when a DEVCOM global technology advisor was scouting additive manufacturing technology in the Atlantic region, which includes London, United Kingdom; Paris, France; Frankfurt, Germany; and Tel Aviv, Israel. The ITCs, which are part of DEVCOM’s global enterprise, serve as the forward-deployed ‘eyes and ears’ of the Army Science and Technology Enterprise. Other DEVCOM ITCs include: North America; South America; Northern Europe; Southern Europe; Northeast Asia; Southeast Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.

VICI ensures end-to-end encryption by enabling organizations to store their designs locally and use the virtual inventory to manufacture parts in remote locations. For example, a deployed Soldier communicates a need, such as a spare part or a modification to an existing part, to the computer-aided design, or CAD, element at 7th SFG (A). The CAD element either designs the part from scratch or selects from a database of commonly used parts. This is then streamed to the Soldier in the field, who prints the part. Because the file is never sent, VICI prevents adversaries from accessing the information and identifying vulnerabilities in equipment and capabilities.

“We made it a priority to pursue avenues that will allow us to operate in environments that are not conducive to regular resupply efforts. For detachments to stay in the fight in these environments, we explored systems that operate outside the conventional supply chains. Project Prime’s deployable 3D printer and VICI software enables secure transmission and an easy-to-use interface,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jesse Peters, Innovation Cell, 7th SFG (A).

Other benefits of the technology include:

The 3D printer operator does not need to be an expert in 3D printing to print the required files.

The interface prevents overloading the network since forward-deployed Soldiers only see objects they have requested for their mission.

It securely stores files in a sharable repository, including files created by the Department of Defense and coalition networks.

“Imagine this scenario — a clever Green Beret on a remote base develops a novel attachment for an existing Unmanned Aircraft System, which is stored in VICI. Then, a clever Airman across the world at a remote airfield sees it and adds his/her twist. Next, a British Soldier prints it and starts using it in his/her own operations,” Fowler said.

During the training event, feedback was gathered in real-time as the deployed Soldiers communicated with the 7th SFG (A) Innovation Cell. Other information was collected after the training, including the pros and cons of the system, software interface, training requirements and long-term durability.

7th SFG (A) plans to train more of their Soldiers on the technology to support a U.S. Army Southern Command deployment. Once the deployment is completed, ITC-UK will document all of the activities and achievements of Project Prime and make it available to the broader Department of Defense community. The information will benefit other DEVCOM centers and research laboratory, particularly the C5ISR Center, which focuses on securing communications to the tactical edge. The technology may also fill gaps with other Army units.

“We’re looking for funding to further develop VICI to make it operable on a cell phone or a small device, including a Raspberry Pi, which is a very small computer that plugs into a computer monitor, TV, or similar small end-user devices. This will make the solution, which is currently used on a laptop, even more deployable,” Fowler said.

By Argie Sarantinos, DEVCOM HQ Public Affairs

Posted in Army, Design, Disruptive Tech, Guest Post, SOF | 1 Comment »

DARPA Completes Underminer Program

Wednesday, April 6th, 2022

New tactical tunneling technologies will support national security objectives

DARPA’s Underminer program has demonstrated the feasibility of rapidly constructing tactical tunnel networks that enable secure, responsive resupply in denied environments. These networks could provide infrastructure for logistics support, such as pre-positioning supplies in advance of an operation or providing ongoing resupply as troops move through a contested area. The ability to rapidly bore tactical tunnels could also be helpful in rescue missions.

Adversaries, peer competitor nations, and allies around the world are building and exploiting tunnels for tactical operations. Tunneling capabilities exist in United States’ commercial applications – mostly in the oil/gas, utility, geological, and environmental sectors – but the U.S. Department of Defense is not currently taking advantage of such technologies or equipment to support tactical tunnel creation or exploitation.

“The technologies demonstrated in the Underminer program offered unique insight into applications for tactical tunneling networks,” said Andrew Nuss, Underminer program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. “Through Underminer, DARPA has advanced the community’s use of high-speed tactical tunnel creation, sensing, and positioning.”

Three teams collectively produced and matured technologies for rapid tunnel creation with a focus on diameter, distance, speed, and accuracy.

1 The Colorado School of Mines designed and demonstrated a continuous feed directional drilling concept that incorporated a hybrid drill bit system, an innovative drilling fluid management approach, and an intelligent drilling support system.

2 General Electric Research Center developed and demonstrated a novel robotic approach consisting of multiple artificial muscle systems.

3 Sandia National Laboratories implemented modifications to existing commercial hardware to demonstrate improvements to rate of penetration, accuracy and reduced operator demands.

“Tactical tunneling capabilities have tremendous opportunities to expand the combined arms maneuver trade space to include the vertical dimension in both natural and man-made subterranean environments,” added Dr. Nuss. “These unique capabilities have the potential to create secured logistics pathways in contested environments.”

Novel tunneling technologies and processes developed under the program have already transitioned to multiple industry and government partners. Some of those advances include an increased understanding of fluids management while drilling, localization of the drill bit without the use of beacons, and how to conduct branching operations while drilling at high rates of penetration.

Posted in Disruptive Tech, Press Release | 5 Comments »

NATO Mountain Warfare Rescue Exercise in Slovenia

Thursday, December 30th, 2021

This video of a recent NATO Mountain Warfare Rescue exercise in Slovenia features the Gravity Industries Jet Suit.

Posted in Aviation, Disruptive Tech | 7 Comments »

Marines 3D Print a Rocket Headcap for Mine-Clearing Missions

Saturday, September 4th, 2021

QUANTICO, VA —

The Marine Corps continues to leverage additive manufacturing to benefit the warfighter.

This summer, the Program Manager for Ammunition at Marine Corps Systems Command 3D printed a headcap for a rocket motor used to detonate a M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge. The MICLIC is a rocket-projected explosive line charge that provides a demining capability for Marines.

“The process of 3D printing allows Marines to create a physical object from a digital design,” said CWO2 Justin Trejo, a project officer with PM Ammo at MCSC. “We essentially created a 3D-printed product and incorporated it into a highly explosive system.”

Marines use the MICLIC to clear paths through minefields and other obstacles on the battlefield. However, traditional manufacturing methods for creating the headcap can be both timely and costly, said Trejo. MCSC wanted to identify a more efficient method for producing the part.

PM Ammo found the answer to this dilemma in additive manufacturing.

In 2019, PM Ammo began exploring alternative solutions for manufacturing the headcap. After many hours of research as well as developing and testing a prototype headcap, the team collaborated with Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division to produce a 3D-printed version.

Earlier this year, NSWC Corona produced the 3D-printed, stainless steel solution. The next month, PM Ammo representatives assessed the 3D product during a test event at Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. The evaluation involved launching the rocket motor to detonate the mine-clearing line charge.

Trejo said the event went flawlessly.

“The rocket motor fired off just as intended and the line charge detonated as it is supposed to, which was a significant moment for us.”

-CWO2 Justin Trejo, Project officer with PM Ammo at MCSC

“In the future, we’d like to attempt to 3D print the headcap with its nozzles attached,” said Trejo.

He stressed the significance of the successful test event because it further confirmed the effectiveness of 3D printing, which has been growing in popularity within the Department of Defense.

Additive manufacturing provides Marines with a streamlined solution to meet their needs. In 2019, MCSC established its Advanced Manufacturing Operations Cell to serve as a 24/7 help desk for Marines who need assistance with 3D printing, and other sustainment and manufacturing solutions.

AMOC is available to answer questions, field requests for prints and fully vet any part that requires fabrication by a Marine organization. The team of skilled Marines and civilians has employed additive manufacturing to develop everything from innovative maintenance tools to a reinforced concrete bridge.

Caleb Hughes, an engineer with MCSC’s PM Ammo who supported the Yuma testing event, said 3D printing saves the Marine Corps time and money.

“The previous process of traditional manufacturing is outdated, while 3D printing is a more modern manufacturing technique,” said Hughes. “I truly believe 3D printing is the next generation of the Marine Corps.”

Trejo believes additive manufacturing aligns with Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger’s vision in that 3D printing helps increase Marines’ battlefield efficiency. Trejo said the manufacturing method enables the warfighter to be “lighter and faster,” critical attributes when supporting various missions.

“We’re able to create equipment parts and other assets for whatever particular mission we’re engaged in,” said Trejo. “This 3D-printed headcap represents the Marine Corps going above and beyond to support our Marines.”

By Matt Gonzales, Marine Corps Systems Command

Posted in Disruptive Tech, Guest Post, MARCORSYSCOM, USMC, weapons | Comments Off on Marines 3D Print a Rocket Headcap for Mine-Clearing Missions